Combined shaft-support and antirattler



H. .H. WISE. GOMBIN ED SHAFT SUPPORT AND ANTIRATTLER. No. 580,028.

(No Model.)

Patented Apr. 6, 1897.

UNITED STATES ATENT @FFICE.

IIIRAM ll. lVISE, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS.

COMBINED SHAFT-SUPPORT AND ANTIRATTLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 580,028, dated April 6,1897.

Application filed December 12, 1896. Serial No. 615,511. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HIRAM H. XVISE, of Decatur, in the county of Maconand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin a Combined Shaft-Support and Antirattler, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention is designed to provide a cheap, well-appearing, andeffective shaftsupport that will not strain the fifth-wheel and thatwill prevent rattling of the shaftcoupling. It is exemplified in thestructure hereinafter described and it is defined in the appendedclaims.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a sideview of a shaftcoupling embodying my invention, a lug of the clip beingbroken away to expose details of construction and the shaft being shownin the position it occupies while in use. Fig. 2 is a similarrepresentation showing the shaft raised and held in a raised position bythe support. Fig. 3 is a plan of a slotted plate that is used to connectthe spring of the supporter with the shaft. Fig. 4 is a plan of theclip, which forms an element of my invention, the shaft being detachedfrom the clip. Fig, 5 is a reduced side view with one lug of the clipbroken away, such view illustrating a possible modification of theinvention.

To construct my device, the axle-clip, which is shown at a in theaccompanying drawings, is provided with lugs, as 5, somewhat longer thanusual, and a roller, as 7, is journaled between the lugs, close to theclip, on a bolt or pin that traverses the lugs in a direction parallelwith the axle and with the bolt 6 of the eye of the shaft. The shaft orthill 1 has its eye 2 pivoted between the ends of lugs 5 on bolt 6 inthe customary manner, except that the eye is slightly farther than usualfrom the axle. A plate, as 12, preferably of cast metal, is slottedlongitudinally, as shown at let in Fig. 3, and is secured to the shaftby means of a bolt 13, that extends through the slot. Aspring 11 isfastened rigidly to plate 12 by means of rivets, for instance, and itextends downward in the rear of the curved end of the shaft nearly tothe clip on the axle. To the lower end of the spring is fastened a plate8, which is preferably made of cast metal. The plate has in its rearsurface an indentation or recess, as 0, that is adapted to receive theroller 7 when the shaft is raised, and it also has a curved surface, as10, below the indentation that approximates an arc of a circle with itsconvex surface presented rearward.

The spring exerts continuous pressure rearward on plate 8, therebyholding the plate forcibly, but yieldingly, against the roller, and whenthe shaft is in the position it occupies when in use the pressure of thespring is reacted on the eye of the shaft in a manner to preventrattling of the joint of the coupling. XVhen the shaft is raised to theposition it preferably occupies when not in use, the roller engages theindentation in the plate 8, and the inclination of the lower surface ofthe indentation is such that the action of the spring and the passiveresistance of the ineline hold the shaft elevated, but not unyieldin glyso.

lVhen it is desired to lower the shaft or pair of shafts, as the actualoperation is, the shafts are given a downward pull sufficient toovercome the resistance of the spring and the incline, .after which nofurther exertion is needed and no tendency to turn the axle and strainthe fifth-wheel is developed.

The plate 12 may be adjusted on the shaft in a manner to bring theroller into engagement with the indentation at the time that the shaftis elevated to the desired height,

the slot and bolt making obvious provision for that operation.

The cast-metal plates are specified as preferred elements in theconstruction of my device, but it will be seen that it is not impossiblethat they, either or both, might be formed integral with the spring, andthey are designated as plates in the claims merely to express theiroperative characteristics. So, also, a rigid bearing may somewhatimperfectly perform the function of a roller. In addition to this it isevident that the roller and the indented plate may be transposed, assuggested in Fig. 5, without altering the principle of or interferingwith the operation of the device, as described.

The device is simple and cheap and its principal lines harmonize withthe lines of the shaft.

Its working partsi. e. the roller and the indented plateare nearly orquite hidden betweenthe lugs of the clip.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a combined shaft-support and antirattler, the combination of aclip attached to the axle and having lugs separate one from the other, ashaft pivot-ally swung between the ends of the lugs, a roller betweenthe lugs in the rear of the shaft-eye, a spring fastened at its upperend to the shaft and extended downward along the rear surface of thecurve thereof, and a plate on the lower end of the spring extendingbetween the roller and the eye of the shaft and having an indentation inits rear surface adapted to engage the roller, substantially as setforth.

2. In a combined shaft-support and antirattler, the combination of aclip having elongated lugs, a shaft hinged between the ends of the lugs,a spring fastened at its upper end to the shaft and extended between thelugs in the rear of the shaft, a rounded catch member fastened betweenthe lugs of the clip in the rear of the spring, and a catch member onthe lower end of the spring adapted to engage the under surface of thecatch member of the clip, when the shafts are raised, substantially asset forth.

In testimony whereof I sign my name in the presence of two subscribingwitnesses.

IIIRAM I-I. XVISE.

Attest:

MILToN JOHNSON, LEvI Town

